Written Answers Friday 10 February 2006

Scottish Executive

Bridges

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments by the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications on 26 January 2006 ( Official Report c. 22751) in respect of the safeguarding of the route for a second Forth road crossing, whether land is currently set aside for the construction of a second bridge; if so, by whom the land is owned and when it was purchased and whether ownership of the land, or part of it, by the Executive amounts in practice to the safeguarding of the route for the possible purpose of building a second bridge.

Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22499 on 7 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliamentary website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.Scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Energy Efficiency

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the targets have been for loans approved under the Loan Action Scotland scheme in each year since the scheme was established.

Nicol Stephen: The targets set for 2000-01 (the first full year of the scheme) and for each subsequent year are set out below:

  

 2000-01
 15


 2001-02
 20


 2002-03
 20


 2003-04
 20


 2004-05
 24


 2005-06 
 30

Energy Efficiency

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of promoting and publicising the Loan Action Scotland (LAS) scheme has been in each year since the scheme was established.

Nicol Stephen: The primary means of promotion and marketing of the LAS scheme is through the Scottish Executive’s Business Adviser Network and the Business Environment Partnership. This is carried out as an integral part of their wider roles, to inform and assist business and the public sector on resource efficiency issues, and is not included in the costs given below.

  The costs detailed therefore cover printing, publication of brochures, and the design and publication of the annual report.

  

 1999-2000 (part year)
£8,783


 2000-01
£277


 2001-02
£13,377


 2002-03
£19,446


 2003-04
£15,551


 0204-05
£3,046


 2005-06 (to 31 December)
£2,462

Energy Efficiency

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost per tonne of carbon saved under the Loan Action Scotland scheme has been since the scheme was established.

Nicol Stephen: The average lifetime cost per tonne of carbon for the scheme is estimated at £39. Lifetime is defined as the period of time over which the energy efficiency asset is in place before a further replacement is required.

Energy Efficiency

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out into awareness of the Loan Action Scotland scheme among small and medium-sized companies.

Nicol Stephen: No research has been carried out into awareness of this scheme.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the terms of reference are for its review of local economic forums; who is conducting the review; what the cost is; whether consultants are involved, and when will it be completed.

Nicol Stephen: Local economic forums are not under review but the Executive is committed to ensuring their effectiveness. This does not involve consultants.

Enterprise

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many multi-national companies have established (a) offices and (b) headquarters in Scotland in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Nicol Stephen: It is not possible to answer this question from the data held centrally. The Office for National Statistics’ firm-level database (Inter-Departmental Business Register) contains data on employment and turnover for all enterprises located in Scotland, but does not record systematically whether the enterprise unit has a headquarter or office function.

Fire Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fire fatalities there have been in each year since 1999 and how many of these resulted from fires identified as having been caused by cigarettes, broken down by (a) fire brigade area and (b) deprivation category.

Hugh Henry: Fire fatalities caused by cigarettes or other tobacco products by brigade area are shown in the table. Information on fire fatalities by deprivation category is not held centrally.

  Fatal Casualties in Primary Fires Started by Cigarettes or other Tobacco Products

  

 
Scotland
Central
Dumfries and Galloway
Fife
Grampian
Highland and Islands
Lothian and Borders
Strathclyde
Tayside


1999
35
1
1
5
4
-
6
15
3


2000
24
-
-
-
1
2
4
16
1


2001
27
1
-
-
3
2
2
14
5


20021
31
2
-
5
1
-
3
20
-


2003
17
-
-
1
2
-
2
11
1


20042
30
3
1
1
1
5
3
15
1



  Notes:

  1. Excluding a period of 10 days of industrial action in November 2002.

  2. Provisional.

  3. Excluding periods of industrial action in January and February 2003.

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people with learning disabilities are currently using the further education system.

Nicol Stephen: Data on numbers of young people with learning disabilities in further education is not held centrally.

Rail Network

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much in real terms was spent on maintaining the Inverness to Wick and Thurso rail line from April 1975 to April 2005.

Tavish Scott: Network Rail organise and manage its network maintenance activities on a geographic, not on a line of route basis.

  The three geographic areas in Scotland are East, West and Highlands.

  The Highland area includes the:

  Inverness to Aberdeen via Nairn, Elgin and Inverurie;

  Inverness to Perth via Aviemore, Blair Atholl and Pitlochry;

  The West Highland Line, Glasgow to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig, and,

  The "Far North Line" from Inverness to the towns of Wick and Thurso, as well as the branch to Kyle of Lochalsh in the west.

  The maintenance of the network requires the use of many specialist types of machinery. This specialist equipment is treated as a common resource for large sections of the network. Similarly, some network maintenance activities affect large areas of the network. Finally, Network Rail award maintenance contracts for some activities on a Scotland wide basis.

  Network Rail’s financial reporting is organised to reflect this method of working. Therefore the information in the form requested is not recorded.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Rail Services

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is acceptable that, in the four weeks ending on 12 November 2005, First ScotRail East achieved 68.2% of its target of 90% of trains arriving within five minutes of scheduled arrival time and what measures the Executive is putting in place to improve this service.

Tavish Scott: Performance levels on these services and across the rail network in Scotland generally are improving. The last period for which agreed figures are available for First ScotRail East services (four weeks ending 7 January 2006) show that 76.9% of trains arrived within five minutes of scheduled time, an 11% improvement over the same period last year. Provisional figures for the subsequent period show further improvement.

  The franchise agreement contains a performance regime which provides incentives for First ScotRail to improve punctuality and penalties where they fail to deliver contracted levels of performance. Additionally, Transport Scotland is involved with and steering a range of performance improvement initiatives with rail industry partners, including Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Rail Services

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £5 million to build a new car park at Croy railway station, announced by the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning on 21 March 2002 ( Official Report c. 10468) and included in Scotland’s Transport: Delivering Improvements, is still available for the project and, if so, when the construction will start.

Tavish Scott: Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority (SPTA) are responsible for the delivery of the new car park at Croy railway station, using the £5 million Scottish Executive award. Part of this award has been spent on acquisition of the land and the provision of a bus interlink service connecting with train arrivals and departures. The remaining budgetary provision is still available in financial year 2006-07 to cover the construction costs. SPTA has commissioned First ScotRail to produce a development proposal and are currently awaiting a detailed timetable for delivery.

  I am very concerned about the continued delays in delivering this much-needed facility. The Executive’s grant is available until the end of March 2007, and I therefore expect construction to begin shortly to ensure completion by then.

Rendition Flights

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21090 by Tavish Scott on 20 December 2005 and noting that Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd has no statutory duty to record or publish passenger or crew details of chartered or private flights, whether, in its capacity as sole shareholder or otherwise, it has concerns regarding two alleged CIA-operated flights which landed at Wick and five at Inverness since September 2001.

Tavish Scott: Neither the Scottish Executive nor Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd has any information which supports allegations that Wick or Inverness Airports have been used by CIA-operated flights.

Rendition Flights

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21090 by Tavish Scott on 20 December 2005, what approaches Scottish ministers or officials have made to the management of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd asking it to check whether it holds any information or related documents suggesting that US Government officials or their proxies have operated flights through Wick and Inverness airports since September 2001.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has requested information from Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) regarding any flights operated on behalf of the US Government and its agencies. HIAL has no evidence that such flights have operated to or from its airports.

Rendition Flights

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21090 by Tavish Scott on 20 December 2005, whether it has instructed the management of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd to investigate reports of two alleged CIA-operated flights into Wick and five such flights into Inverness since September 2001 and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has requested and received information from Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) about the procedures that are in place for handling and recording information regarding international flights to and from its airports. We are satisfied that HIAL is fulfilling its legal and regulatory obligations as a licensed airport operator in respect of international flights.

Road Accidents

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road traffic (a) fatalities and (b) injuries there were in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) police force area and (ii) parliamentary region, expressed also as a percentage of all road traffic accidents and showing year-on-year percentage changes.

Tavish Scott: The numbers of road accident fatalities and injuries by police force area are published each year in Key Road Accident Statistics (provisional figures) and Road Accidents Scotland (detailed figures). These figures, together with the other information requested, are given in the following tables. They relate only to accidents that were reported to the Police. The statistics given here for 2002 and 2003 may differ slightly from those which were provided previously, due to (e.g.) subsequent late returns and amendments. Provisional figures for 2005 will be published in June.

  (a) (i) - Fatalities by Police Force Area

  

 
 Number
 Percentage of Total
Percentage Change Over Previous Year


 Police Force Area
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2003
 2004


 Northern
 27
 36
 32
 8.9
 10.9
 10.5
 +33.3
 -11.1


 Grampian
 49
 50
 44
 16.1
 15.1
 14.4
 +2.0
 -12.0


 Tayside
 27
 36
 35
 8.9
 10.9
 11.4
 +33.3
 -2.8


 Fife
 29
 18
 30
 9.5
 5.4
 9.8
 -37.9
 +66.7


 Lothian and Borders
 38
 45
 35
 12.5
 13.6
 11.4
 +18.4
 -22.2


 Central
 24
 20
 15
 7.9
 6.0
 4.9
 -16.7
 -25.0


 Strathclyde
 92
 116
 107
 30.3
 35.0
 35.0
 +26.1
 -7.8


 Dumfries and Galloway
 18
 10
 8
 5.9
 3.0
 2.6
 -44.4
 -20.0


 Scotland
 304
 331
 306
 100
 100
 100
 +8.9
 -7.6



  (a) (ii) - Fatalities by Parliamentary Region1

  

 
 Number
 Percentage of Total
Percentage Change Over Previous Year


 Parliamentary Region
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2003
 2004


 Highland and Islands
 38
 48
 48
 12.5
 14.5
 15.7
 +26.3
 0.0


 North East Scotland
 50
 53
 54
 16.4
 16.0
 17.6
 +6.0
 +1.9


 Mid Scotland and Fife
 58
 59
 59
 19.1
 17.8
 19.3
 +1.7
 0.0


 West Scotland
 19
 33
 24
 6.3
 10.0
 7.8
 +73.7
 -27.3


 Central Scotland
 40
 34
 32
 13.2
 10.3
 10.5
 -15.0
 -5.9


 Lothian
 22
 24
 17
 7.2
 7.3
 5.6
 +9.1
 -29.2


 South Scotland
 63
 60
 55
 20.7
 18.1
 18.0
 -4.8
 -8.3


 Glasgow
 14
 18
 16
 4.6
 5.4
 5.2
 +28.6
 -11.1


 Not known2
 0
 2
 1
 0.0
 0.6
 0.3
 n-a
 n-a


 Scotland
 304
 331
 306
 100
 100
 100
 +8.9
 -7.6



  (b) (i) - Non-Fatal Injuries by Police Force Area

  

 Police Force Area
 Number
 Percentage of Total
Percentage Change Over Previous Year


 2002
 2003
 2004
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2003
 2004


 Northern
 1,081
 1,176
 1,190
 5.7
 6.4
 6.6
 +8.8
 +1.2


 Grampian
 1,494
 1,428
 1,385
 7.9
 7.8
 7.7
 -4.4
 -3.0


 Tayside
 1,556
 1,362
 1,426
 8.2
 7.4
 7.9
 -12.5
 +4.7


 Fife
 1,051
 982
 982
 5.5
 5.3
 5.4
 -6.6
 0.0


 Lothian and Borders
 3,885
 3,599
 3,633
 20.5
 19.6
 20.1
 -7.4
 +0.9


 Central
 964
 1,027
 889
 5.1
 5.6
 4.9
 +6.5
 -13.4


 Strathclyde
 8,363
 8,253
 8,030
 44.1
 44.9
 44.4
 -1.3
 -2.7


 Dumfries and Galloway
 569
 574
 564
 3.0
 3.1
 3.1
 +0.9
 -1.7


 Total
 18,963
 18,401
 18,099
 100
 100
 100
 -3.0
 -1.6



  (b) (ii) - Non-Fatal Injuries by Parliamentary Region1

  

 Parliamentary Region
 Number
 Percentage of Total
Percentage Change Over Previous Year


 2002
 2003
 2004
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2003
 2004


 Highland and Islands
 1,517
 1,713
 1,635
 8.0
 9.3
 9.0
 +12.9
 -4.6


 North East Scotland
 2,125
 1,845
 1,802
 11.2
 10.0
 10.0
 -13.2
 -2.3


 Mid Scotland and Fife
 2,284
 2,247
 2,201
 12.0
 12.2
 12.2
 -1.6
 -2.0


 West Scotland
 2,037
 2,143
 1,950
 10.7
 11.6
 10.8
 +5.2
 -9.0


 Central Scotland
 2,389
 2,350
 2,164
 12.6
 12.8
 12.0
 -1.6
 -7.9


 Lothian
 2,930
 2,711
 2,712
 15.5
 14.7
 15.0
 -7.5
 0.0


 South Scotland
 2,765
 2,607
 2,640
 14.6
 14.2
 14.6
 -5.7
 +1.3


 Glasgow
 2,812
 2,718
 2,734
 14.8
 14.8
 15.1
 -3.3
 0.6


 Not known2
 104
 67
 261
 0.5
 0.4
 1.4
 n-a
 n-a


 Scotland
 18,963
 18,401
 18,099
 100.0
 100.0
 100.0
 -3.0
 -1.6



  Notes:

  1. Figures for parliamentary regions are approximate as the road accident statistics system was not designed to provide figures for these areas. They are based on information collected and reported by the police, and do not take account of any subsequent changes to the statistical information about the location of accidents that local authorities may have made, based on their knowledge of the roads and areas concerned.

  2. In a small proportion of cases, the information provided about the grid co-ordinates of the location of the accident is insufficient to identify the parliamentary constituency in which an accident occurred.

Roads

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on capital investment in the construction of new trunk roads infrastructure in each year since 1999 and what estimates are available for future years.

Tavish Scott: Details of capital investment in the construction of new trunk roads are shown in the following table.

  

1999-2000 
(£ Million)
2000-01 
(£ Million)
2001-02 
(£ Million)
2002-03 
(£ Million)
2003-04 
(£ Million)
2004-05 
(£ Million)


 16.244
 8.716
 8.606
 38.099
 46.080
 50.108



  Details of schemes that are under construction this financial year and programmed for future years can be found at the Scottish Executive’s website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/05/TrunkRoads#a2.

School Transport

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Borders Council in respect of the council’s plan to remove an £85,000 minibus subsidy and whether this will impact on school pupils’ extra-curricular sporting and learning activities.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive is committed to encouraging more out of school hours opportunities for all pupils across a wide range of activities.

  We have had no discussions with Scottish Borders Council on the role of minibuses in school activities as it is for each local authority to decide on the detailed allocation of the resources they have at their disposal.

Teachers

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers reported being assaulted in each of the last five years, broken down by school and showing (a) year-on-year percentage changes and (b) the total percentage change over the five-year period.

Peter Peacock: School level information has never been collected centrally. Authority level data, which was collected between 1998-99 and 2002-03, was found not to be reliable and this collection was discontinued. Education authorities are responsible for local reporting and recording of incidents. Local authority information for years 2000-01 to 2002-03 was provided in response to question S2W-14364 on 8 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Transport

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the transport infrastructure projects valued at £5 million or more which have commenced since 1999, and those which are planned to commence, including when the projects were, or are scheduled to be, completed.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has had a number of transport infrastructure projects valued at £5 million or more which have been completed since 1999. Seventeen Capital Roads Projects which meet this description have been completed. One major rail project over £5 million pounds has been completed. Three Freight Facilities Grant have contributed to completed infrastructure projects. Piers and Harbours projects have had four infrastructure projects completed and four vessels constructed since 1999. A further three public transport infrastructure projects costing over £5 million have been completed since 1999.

  The current major transport flagship projects being supported by Scottish Executive and taken forward by Transport Scotland were outlined in the Scottish Executive Investment Infrastructure Plan that was published in February 2005.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Correction

The reply to question S2W-14559, which was originally answered on 29 March 2005, has been corrected: see page 7181 or http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/pqa/wa-06/wa0207.htm.